Rebuttal Post: Life's a Carnival

(Jennifer, given the name "Carla" in Life's a Carnival, has submitted her own version of events on that date.  Jennifer says: "I read the story a dozen times, but there's no doubt that Ben wrote it about me.  Also, it's almost pure fiction on his part.")


Rebuttal Story Submitted by Jennifer:

Ben and I walked through the fair's midway, as he said, but he was the one who offered, "Want a prize?"

I asked him, "If you're offering to win me something, I won't refuse, and thanks."  I gestured to a stuffed monkey above the red star shooting gallery.

As he said, he didn't win, and he did say, "It's hard."

My actual response was, "We can try another game around here."

He slammed down another three dollars and tried again.  The second time, he also failed, but it wasn't a big deal.  At least, not to me.  I didn't really have to have a stuffed monkey that day.

After his second try, I asked him if I could give it a shot.  I never said, "Pay the man."  I took out my wallet, but Ben headed me off at the pass and gave the guy three of his own dollars.  I thanked him, then took my aim at the little card.

I failed at it that time, but when I turned back to Ben, he was gone.  I decided to go all for broke on one last try, and I gave the vendor three of my own dollars for my second pass.

I'm not sure why Ben wrote "She put down another three, same result."  He wasn't even there for my second try, which I took slowly and won.  I put the gun down, accepted the monkey (and the card with the shot-out star) from the vendor, and went off to find Ben.

I walked up and down the area, searching for him.  I tried his phone, but he must have had the ringer off.  Finally, I found him not too far away, watching a group of girls play a game of skeeball.  Another stuffed monkey was tucked under his arm.  I said, "Why'd you take off?  I was looking for you."

Barely looking at me, he replied, "While you were busy wasting my money, I went ahead and got you this."  He handed me the monkey.

I showed him my card with the shot-out star, held up my monkey, and said, "Thanks, but I won this one, myself.  And you were the one who gave the guy your money.  I was ready to pay for my turn."

He said, "I paid for our first three times."

I replied, "I didn't force you to do that.  You asked me if I wanted a prize."

He said, as if he was talking to a six-year-old, "Wow!  Now you have two monkeys!"

I said, "I don't think I deserve this attitude."

"What attitude?"

We were right next to the food court, and we were both hungry.  It was a hot day, and I figured that we'd be less cranky after eating something.  I said, "Never mind.  Let's get something to eat."

He didn't say anything at all to me as we ordered food, sat down, and ate.  As Ben wrote in his post, a family sat near us, but what actually transpired was a bit different from the crap he spun for you.

The little boy (whose name might have been Tim, or Joey, or Billy... there's no way to know, because we never found out what it was) saw the monkeys that Ben and I had put on the table, and he pointed at them, reached for them, and cried for them.

I leaned in and asked Ben, "Do you think we should give him one of the monkeys?"

I asked because sometimes parents can be sensitive about strangers giving gifts to children, be it a child safety issue or the idea of a child being given presents without doing something to earn them.  I've worked with parents before and they can be touchy about it, so that's why I asked Ben for his thoughts.

Ben's response?  Loud enough for the family to hear, he said, "You were the one who wanted a monkey so fucking badly.  Your choice."

A second later, I handed my monkey to the little kid.  The parents thanked me.  I turned back to Ben, who gave me such a sneering, judgmental look, that I felt compelled to lean in and say, "You're being an asshole."

As he said, we definitely had different life priorities.  Mine is being a good person, while his seemed to be, "How long can I act like a five-year-old and get away with it"?  Good riddance.


(See Ben's original post here.)